Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron (10) is all smiles as he watches the fourth quarter during the Alabama vs Auburn Iron Bowl NCAA football game, Saturday, November 24, 2012, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- AJ McCarron's 2012 began with his official arrival on the college football scene and ended with one of the best passes of his career.

In between it all, the Alabama quarterback didn't do too shabby, either.

McCarron earned offensive MVP honors at the 2012 BCS Championship game, when he threw for 234 yards in the Crimson Tide's romp over LSU. He followed that up with one of the best seasons by an Alabama quarterback in program history and helped guide the Crimson Tide back to the BCS title game.

McCarron finished the 2012 season ranked No. 1 in the nation in quarterback efficiency after completing 66.8 percent of his passes for 2,669 yards and a school-record 26 touchdowns. His last touchdown pass was his prettiest, as he found freshman Amari Cooper on a 45-yard, play-action deep ball that served as the game-winner at the SEC Championship.

He made it through Alabama's first nine games without an interception and finished with just three. His streak of 292 passes without an interception shattered an Alabama record previously held by Brodie Croyle and serves as the second-longest in SEC history.

It certainly could have been a lot worse for No. 10 in 2012. He'll be back for the 2013 season to further establish himself as one of the best quarterbacks in Alabama history.